Public or private career?

Thoughts from Behind the Pressline

Clearly when you see the kind of money that gets poured into the political system, the over-bloated spending, the reckless regard for the people’s money and the power of the government to have its way over the private sector, who wouldn’t opt for a government position if given a choice?

The only long-term glimmer of hope I see for the private sector is the American entrepreneurial spirit. We hear firsthand from former employees that working for the government is drone-like work. The passion for the work itself is all too often overwhelmed by the sheer volume, lack of creativity and individual initiative. When the end of the day comes, the work is dropped like a hot potato and the rush for the door is the fastest move of the day by most of their co-workers. Perhaps this is why we see these lavish government conferences with team building exercises featuring line dancing and movie re-enactments to address what’s been reported as poor morale issues in the public sector. Individualism and creativity still beats in the American spirit, and that can’t be purchased with a government paycheck or benefits, at least not yet anyway.

At the end of the day the biggest concern for this private sector employer is will our powerful government continue to use its leverage to stifle private enterprise while forcing it to pay for the ever-growing cost of government?

Throughout mankind the tug of war has always been who can best solve the problems facing society, government or private enterprise? While governments continue to solve society’s shortcomings, it’s always been private ingenuity that has created new technology to advance society. Let’s hope for the sake of future generations that we keep that thought in mind and maintain a proper balance between private and public. We need both, but each has its place in our free society — neither should ever be placed in a subservient role nor an overly dominate role. Both groups should be valued for the role they play in advancing the nation.

Dan Alexander is associate publisher of New Market Press and publisher and CEO of Denton Publications. He may be reached at dan@newmarketpressvt.com or dan@denpubs.com.